Kef R Meta Series Release

[regan]

I also hope the R7 would get an improved woofer over the R3 - it's double the price.

Why not buy the R3 + svs 1000 pro/monolith/rythmik? It would be better than all the series R11 included. At least I think so.
Design aside never understood why people choose to pay a lot more for floorstands when they could get better performance with way less money with bookshelves + sub(s)

 

[sweetchaos]

Oh man! I missed this callout somehow. Now it’s too late. The host site software would rearrange the two Threads by time stamp of each post. The result would be un-followable mess. My apologies had I caught this callout at the time absolutely would have merged these. Next time if I don’t respond it’s because my notifications sometimes get pretty long. Send me a PM that will ensure I respond in a timely manner. Really sorry I missed this. I could close the old thread and leave a redirect link to this thread for continuity’s sake? Or just leave it as is?

Leave it.

 

[stren]

Why not buy the R3 + svs 1000 pro/monolith/rythmik? It would be better than all the series R11 included. At least I think so.
Design aside never understood why people choose to pay a lot more for floorstands when they could get better performance with way less money with bookshelves + sub(s)

I don't disagree. Some people like the aesthetics of towers or want more output (and will get subs anyway). But in my mind a bigger cabinet, more shipping and one more driver shouldn't double the price.

 

[MarkS]

Some people like the aesthetics of towers or want more output (and will get subs anyway). But in my mind a bigger cabinet, more shipping and one more driver shouldn't double the price.

Aesthetics, yes; more output, yes; will get subs anyway, yes.

And the price of the R7 is not double once the cost of stands for the R3 is included.

 

[regan]

the price of the R7 is not double once the cost of stands for the R3 is included

Well you don't include it, that's the thing.
You can find high quality stands for a 10th of that price.

 

[dogmamann]

I also hope the R7 would get an improved woofer over the R3 - it's double the price.

not going to happen. The point of making a product line itself is having the same components in varying amount to create different products of the family.

 

[dogmamann]

Why not buy the R3 + svs 1000 pro/monolith/rythmik? It would be better than all the series R11 included. At least I think so.
Design aside never understood why people choose to pay a lot more for floorstands when they could get better performance with way less money with bookshelves + sub(s)

also you get the flexibility of getting the midrange to the level where you ears are. You don’t have to lay down on a couch to match the level.

 

[buz]

Well you don't include it, that's the thing.
You can find high quality stands for a 10th of that price.

Where?

It's actually rather hard to find stands for the R3.

Other than that, yes R3 and two SB1000 are still cheaper than r7

 

[regan]

Where?

Monoprice

Other than that, yes R3 and two SB1000 are still cheaper than r7

Also i would argue that an R3 + 1 sb1000 is way cheaper and superior to the R11.
Same with the Reference series. If you dont need really really loud volume then picking the bookshelf + one average sub such as sb1000 will be superior to the insanely more expensive floorstands.

 

[lossendae]

Monoprice


Also i would argue that an R3 + 1 sb1000 is way cheaper and superior to the R11.
Same with the Reference series. If you dont need really really loud volume then picking the bookshelf + one average sub such as sb1000 will be superior to the insanely more expensive floorstands.

Or Norstone in Europe for the stands.

Although I would argue that the kef stands are more beautiful than cheaper alternative and provide more stability out of the box (fillable ans screwable).

 

[Daka]

KEF cheeky buggers - speakers are online now
No rounded front.

R7 meta
HARMONIC DISTORTION (90dB, 1m)
<1% 76 Hz and above
<0.5% 110 Hz - 20 kHz

R11
<1% 33 Hz and above
<0.5% 80 Hz - 20 kHz

R3
<1% 73 Hz and above
<0.5% 90 Hz - 20 kHz

R6 Meta
FREQUENCY RESPONSE (±3dB)
65 Hz - 28 kHz
HARMONIC DISTORTION (90dB, 1m)
<1% 65 Hz and above
<0.5% 93 Hz - 20 kHz

R2 Meta
FREQUENCY RESPONSE (±3dB)
67 Hz - 28 kHz
HARMONIC DISTORTION (90dB, 1m)
<1% 84 Hz and above
<0.5% 95 Hz - 20 kHz

 

[Daka]

Link with US pricing
M6 meta 2k btw

Tech hive

 

[abdo123]

After seeing those prices the only thing on my mind is when the Q-series is getting an update lol.

 

[Jukebox]

Kef R3 Meta in the house; the following lines are my personal impressions in my space with my gear:

First of all the look is absolutely identical with the older model; no change whatsoever, except for the special blue color version.
On the inside the UNi-Q is completely different, that means the crossover is different; the bass driver and port I suspect are the same (or small changes judging from the lower distorsions) as the older generation

​

After listening in my room R100, R500, LS50 Meta and the older R3 + listening in another space all the existing KEF speakers to date I can say that I am very familiar with their sound signature and is one of my favorite brand.
These new R meta don't change the Kef philosophy but follow the same rules with better detail and superior resolution.
The sound is more opened, seems like the dispersions is wider than the older model, or maybe is the new acoustic panels that I installed...hard to tell.
As for the bright sound that some people complained in the past, I don't find these at all bright but then again, neither the previous model....however I always use minimal toe-in and I have proper acoustic treatment

​

I did some near-field driver measurements just to have an idea with what I was working(dual binding posts makes it very easy); everything seems in place.
Hope Amir or Erin get them soon for proper measurements.

KEF R3 Meta near field measurements:

​

Just to have something to compare against, bellow is the Reference 1 Meta that I measured some time ago

KEF Reference 1 Meta near field measurements:

​

If I have to compare the R3 VS R3 Meta I would say that they are very close in performance with of course a plus for the Meta version; so would I buy it? absolutely!
But considering the price difference between the two I am not that sure anymore; A double blind test would probably help

R3 Meta vs Ref 1 Meta? For me it's really no contest; the Reference wins at every single category (minus sensitivity...that is to be expected considering the bass extension difference).

Overall the new R Meta series will definitely be a huge success for KEF because they took a great speaker series and make it even better, not to mention the addition of the bigger center speakers that was missing.

 

[sweetchaos]

Thanks @Daka for breaking the news. You're quick!

Here's quick links for interested parties:
USA: https://us.kef.com/collections/r-series
Canadian: https://ca.kef.com/collections/r-series
UK: https://uk.kef.com/collections/r-series
International: https://international.kef.com/collections/r-series

This is me right now!

My offer still stands:

I will donate US$100 to Amir and US$100 to the person who sends me a message before sending, when someone sends in a R3 Meta for testing.

The quicker the better.

 

[buz]

Or Norstone in Europe for the stands.

Although I would argue that the kef stands are more beautiful than cheaper alternative and provide more stability out of the box (fillable ans screwable).

Unfortunately the white stylum 2 seems to be sold out almost everywhere...

 

[dogmamann]

Kef R3 Meta in the house; the following lines are my personal impressions in my space with my gear:

First of all the look is absolutely identical with the older model; no change whatsoever, except for the special blue color version.
On the inside the UNi-Q is completely different, that means the crossover is different; the bass driver and port I suspect are the same (or small changes judging from the lower distorsions) as the older generation

View attachment 262886 View attachment 262887
​

After listening in my room R100, R500, LS50 Meta and the older R3 + listening in another space all the existing KEF speakers to date I can say that I am very familiar with their sound signature and is one of my favorite brand.
These new R meta don't change the Kef philosophy but follow the same rules with better detail and superior resolution.
The sound is more opened, seems like the dispersions is wider than the older model, or maybe is the new acoustic panels that I installed...hard to tell.
As for the bright sound that some people complained in the past, I don't find these at all bright but then again, neither the previous model....however I always use minimal toe-in and I have proper acoustic treatment

View attachment 262894 View attachment 262895
​

I did some near-field driver measurements just to have an idea with what I was working(dual binding posts makes it very easy); everything seems in place.
Hope Amir or Erin get them soon for proper measurements.

KEF R3 Meta near field measurements:

View attachment 262898
​

Just to have something to compare against, bellow is the Reference 1 Meta that I measured some time ago

KEF Reference 1 Meta near field measurements:

View attachment 262899
​

If I have to compare the R3 VS R3 Meta I would say that they are very close in performance with of course a plus for the Meta version; so would I buy it? absolutely!
But considering the price difference between the two I am not that sure anymore; A double blind test would probably help

R3 Meta vs Ref 1 Meta? For me it's really no contest; the Reference wins at every single category (minus sensitivity...that is to be expected considering the bass extension difference).

Overall the new R Meta series will definitely be a huge success for KEF because they took a great speaker series and make it even better, not to mention the addition of the bigger center speakers that was missing.

that 2-3khz bump is still there signing people who felt the old one bright, would find this one bright too. And people who thought they could upgrade the driver and be done with it, nope it won’t work. Crossover freq is now now different from woofer to midrange and midrange to tweeter.

 

[sweetchaos]

2 new videos from Kef (posted 45min ago):

 

[abdo123]

that 2-3khz bump is still there

these nearfield measurements are basically inaccurate above 300Hz or so. and there is no 2-3 KHz bump in the original. At least not on-axis.

 

[boXem]

Two good news at once:
- the actual R series will get cheaper
- a new white paper will soon be published